Hope Goes to School
by Turk 4 Life
Summary: Lightning thinks it's about time Hope gets an education. Hope thinks otherwise. "There was no way he was going back to school. He had lived through what might as well have been and apolcaypse- and he certainly did not strive to survive just to be sent back to that prison of a place his caretaker called a 'school'." Lightning trying to be a good guardian and Hope being a teenager.
1. It Begins

_**A.N: Okay, this idea came to me earlier this week and I was debating within my mind whether this should be something I am going to post on . It's my first FFXIII story, that's for sure and everyone's going to be out of character for sure! So please do put up with it if you're reading- this is just a funny and purely humorous idea I wanted to play around with. I admit, I do think the Hope/Lighting romantic pairing is kind of cute, however only when it takes place with ADULT Hope. The Hope in this story is still a kid (yeah 17= kid hahaha) so this is purely family, platonic hilarity! Well, this is awkward… I hope I receive a war welcome back! Hehe… ENJOY!**_

**Prologue- Back to School?**

There was no way he was going back to school. He had lived through what might as well have been and apolcaypse- and he certainly did not strive to survive just to be sent back to that _prison _of a place his caretaker called a 'school'. And so, with that thought firmly in place, there was _no_ chance the young boy who donned the legendary silver hair would back down from this argument a loser.

He scoffed smugly internally and crossed his arms in front of himself in a pre-positioned victory pose. There was no backing down now. He already half won- he could feel the pink haired woman's outer shell of annoyance break slowly at the sight of his defiance.

He was in a good position for sure.

"Hope. No." His jaw dropped at her flat and completely apathetic tone. There was no way- NO WAY- Lightning had just watched his great feat of defiance to say those two words. One of which was his name. The other… his gaze dropped to the soldier's shoes in confusion. He had honestly thought his tough guy act worked.

Spurred on by the silence of the boy standing idly before her, Lightning continued with a sigh escaping her lips in a slight huff.

"I don't get it. What's so bad about getting an education? You're still a kid. It's not like you can get a job right now either." The pink haired woman stared at Hope pointedly, her signature 'this argument is over' pose dominating over the boy's waning defiant stance. Blinking rapidly at the fast change of events, Hope managed to step forward and speak.

"You enrolled me into grade nine." Lightning blinked, completely unaware of the problem.

"And?"

Hope rubbed his temple.

"I'm seventeen now… I should be in grade twelve. This should be my last year in highschool!" With his arms spread wide beside him, he hoped to convince the adamant young woman before him. Unfortunately, she just turned away and scoffed.

"Don't count on it kid, you've been out of a proper educational facility for three years now. I'd rather you start off where you left off. Gaps in knowledge can kill Hope."

"Lightning! I don't belong with those whining, snotty and immature brats! I saved the world! If anything, I should be teaching them!" Lightning sighed before walking out of the room, without saying another word.

In her mind, she had already won.

It was just a matter of time before Hope would realize it.


	2. The Fitting

**Chapter One- The Fitting**

Hope had thought that all the fuss about attending the New Bodhum Educational Facility had died down, as no one in the household had brought it up since the argument a few days ago. Stepping out of his bedroom, a small grin spread throughout his face, reaching his green eyes. He was safe.

Lightning stepped out of her bedroom, glancing at the mop haired teenager before calmly making her way to the kitchen to start breakfast, already dressed in her uniform. Unfortunately for Hope, he was unable to register the smirk that had formed on the older woman's lips as she brushed past him.

&#&#&#

"Hope, get the door. It's probably Serah." Nodding his head, Hope cleared the last plate that had been used for breakfast and placed it in the basin before running to get the door. Lightning would punish him if Serah even cracked a joke about having to wait for _ages_ to be let in… much like last time.

Serah had apologized to Hope a countless amount of times for that occasion.

Wrenching open the door, he breathlessly welcomed the short young woman back into their humble abode.

"Hi Hope!" Serah chirped gleefully as she made her way into the house with Hope in tow. Gently placing the grocery bags onto the kitchen counter, Serah made a beeline for her warm plate of food with watery eyes.

"All of this for me?" Blinking repeatedly, in a great show of everyday Serah-emotion, she threw Lightning and Hope watery smiles before digging in hungrily. Hope winced at the gusto in which Serah inhaled her food.

It was no wonder her and Snow were a perfect match for each other.

Speaking of Snow…

"Light, did you send Snow off for an errand too?" Serah began to choke, spluttering her food around, though the way she did it, she made it look cute. Hope had a feeling that if he did the same thing, he'd end up getting socked in the face by Lightning.

Hope turned to Lightning, expecting to see her grimace at Serah's lack of manners.

To his surprise and utter amazement, Lightning was completely engrossed in the task at hand- vigorously scrubbing dried egg yolk off a ceramic plate. He had completely missed the suspicious glint in her eyes as she worked her magic on the stubborn dish.

"Uh, Light?" Her eyes widened at Hope's voice. Regaining her stoic posture, she shut off the tap and gave a curt nod to the young silverette.

"You could say that."

&#&#&#

Hope had quickly dressed himself for a day out in New Bodhum's Commercial District. It had been a very long time since the whole family was able to take a day off and spend time together. Sure, Snow was still no where to be seen- but Hope was just grateful he could be a kid again.

A blissful smile graced his youthful features- his worries were finally spent. As a matter of fact, he had not a worry in the world.

That was, until he caught a glance of the blond giant waving his arms at the three newcomers. Usually, this wouldn't bother Hope all that much; after all, the family had built up a resistance towards getting embarrassed in public by Snow. They preferred to laugh at him now rather than run away, faces as red as organic tomatoes.

But the sign a few centimeters above Snow's head shouted 'DANGER' to Hope's survival instincts. If he moved one step towards that building- that man- THAT SIGN, he'd have no chance for survival.

Gulping, Hope did the one thing he was sure he had mastered during his l'cie adventures.

He ran.

&#&#&#

"I can't believe I'm actually raising this idiot." Hope sulked openly in front of Snow, Serah and Lightning. The soldier sighed and rubbed her temple, indicating the level of her severe annoyance. Hope's head sunk further towards the ground, perpendicular to his shoulders as Serah shook her head in disappointment along with her older sister.

"I can't believe he actually tried to run away…" Snow muttered to himself. Ignoring the man who had crash tackled him onto the unforgiving pavement, Hope sighed, his shoulders slumping even further in defeat.

He had lost this battle.

A squeal shook the young teen out of his misery, his eyes darting over to a gleeful looking Serah. His eyes widened in horror as he caught sight of the source of Serah's happiness.

Lightning grinned, despite herself.

"Like your new uniform Hope?"

&#&#&#

Hope gulped loudly as he took in the magnificent- yet freaky- sight of the fitter before him. The man's pointy light blue hair and vein-y face had Hope on edge. But what had really scared him was the typical soft spoken voice that screamed 'PEDOPHILE'. Hope's eyes landed on the man's nametag.

"Seymour Guado, at your service my dear boy." The man supplied, a smile too kind to be genuine plastered onto his features. Hope gulped yet again. He suddenly started feeling VERY thankful that Snow had been forced to accompany him into the fitting area by both Farron sisters.

"And now, my boy- it's time for you to shed your clothes." Hope shot a panicked look at an equally stricken Snow.

"Man, is that absolutely necessary?" Despite his situation, Hope snorted sarcastically.

"Is going to school necessary?"

Poor Hope had been completely ignored.

"I'm sure our dear boy here would want decent school attire for the year, am I right?" Another creepy smile was sent Hope's way. The young boy shuffled away from the pedophilic man and shook his head.

Snow, despite the awkward atmosphere, shoved Hope back in the direction of the shady fitting man.

"Fine, just be quick about it." Snow muttered. A ghastly scowl took over Hope's scandalized expression.

"HEY! I think that's a decision for me to make for myself-" A shiver passed over his cool skin as he spoke. Funny, he could have sworn it was quite warm in the room just a minute ago…

"Milky white skin… typical for a juicy young boy such as yourself- hmmm." Hope stumbled backwards as the blue haired freak's breath invaded his personal space- quite horrifically if he could say so himself.

"LIGHTNING! HELP!"

#&#&#&

Hope trudged out of the uniform shop, hating his while collared button up shirt and black fitted slacks. He could not and WOULD NOT see the point of having a uniform in the first place. So yes, he had to go to that 'school'. He'd accepted that begrudgingly a few hours ago, but the uniform… Hope shivered at the memory of the fitting man.

"I'm never going back there again." Hope dead panned as an apologetic Serah patted his head soothingly while a smirking Snow and satisfied Lightning followed close behind.

"At least we've finished the hard part!" Serah encouraged, with a slight punch to Hope's side. The boy smiled wryly at her. He wanted to get mad and claw someone's eyes out- but Serah's kind temperament made that hard to do.

So he settled for sulking back home.

Wallowing in his pitiful sorrows, he failed to witness Snow begrudgingly pass 40 gil to a smug looking Lightning.


	3. Snow's Stash

**A.N: **_**Okay, so now I have a beta :D Thank you so much Miss-lady-who-has-a-curse-word-in-her-username LOL! I was trying to put your username on here but ffnet kept on thinking it was a web address LMAO! *sigh* anyways- enjoy this you silent readers O_O HAHA!**_

**Chapter Two- Snow's Stash**

It had been two days since Hope's run in with Seymour Guado, and the seventeen year old boy had been reluctant to leave the house after the whole ordeal. However, after a lot of persuasion and a death threat from the woman who was his legal guardian he'd found himself trudging along side a happy Snow Villiers towards an unknown destination.

He could already say in the utmost confidence that he _hated_ everyone he knew.

Especially Lightning- not that he was going to tell her that.

After sulking along after the huge man practically skipping in front of him, they finally reached their destination. Hope raised his eyebrows quizzically.

"Are you being serious? You of all people are taking me out to buy pens and notebooks?" Hope peered into the shop window, trying to find anything that could give him a reason to high-tail it back home and into his bedroom where he could wallow in his piteous sorrows for all of eternity. But no, all his green eyes found were a copious amount of blank notebooks- in assorted colours, mind you- and funky pens.

Hope sighed as Snow grinned greedily at the contents of the shop.

"We're going to tear this place up."

* * *

"You should buy this one. It's so cute!" Hope grimaced at the older man who was up in his face, thrusting a feathery pink pen in front of his eyes.

"Don't ever call anything cute in front of me ever again." Hope witnessed the burly man's grotesque pout and shivered involuntarily. "Please stop."

Ignoring the teenagers desperate pleas for normalcy, Snow ungracefully bounded towards a towering display of colorful, bubble printed A4 notebooks.

"LOOK HOPE! THESE ARE PERFECT FOR A SQUIRT LIKE YOU!" He grabbed a notebook from the middle of the display, ignoring the fact that the notebooks all tipped over and fell behind him. Hope rolled his eyes at the sight, praying to Etro- wishing that the whole ordeal would be over soon. And by ordeal, he meant the whole _learning and education thing_ which was a horrific torture technique thought up by sadists like Lightning.

He was a freaking _hero_ for goodness sake! He didn't need to go to school.

He needed to vanquish Pulse of all evil and save all of his fan girls.

If he had any fan girls, that is. For the majority of his 'hero-ship' Hope and the other l'cie were being feared by the entire population of Cocoon. Hope's shoulders sagged in pure sadness- no fan girls for him.

Shaking his head, he brought himself out of his depressing thoughts and shot Snow a look of pure loathe.

"I don't want it. Just buy me some loose leaf paper and a packet of home brand pens. I'm sad, angry and depressed and most of all I am freaking starving!" With Hope's arms wide open in a dramatic display of teen angst, Snow just blinked at the teen, waiting for him to finish his episode before he went back to loving all the new stationery around him.

Hope growled in frustration.

"Were you even listening to me?!" Snow shook his head, answering back in a frank tone.

"Nah, you're just being a baby so I'm going to ignore you. Hey do you think Serah would like this?" He brandished a novelty pen before Hope's eyes; a small moogle perched on the end of the pen, smiling up at Hope in a sickeningly sweet manner.

He wanted to strangle someone.

* * *

"HEY SIS! WE'RE HOME NOW!" Snow bellowed as he shoved himself and the three bags of utterly useless stationery into their home. Lightning's muffled voice traveled to the two males.

"I'm not your sister, dumb ass."

Serah peered into the hallway from her bedroom and grinned at the sight of her husband. Running over, she hugged Snow and pet a pissed off Hope on the head before taking a bag off her hubby.

She opened it and glanced inside before her eyebrows furrowed. Hope perked up at the change of demeanor. This was going to be good!

Looking up at the huge man, Serah glared pointedly.

"You just couldn't help yourself, could you?" Hope could hear Snow gulp away his nerves. Opening his mouth, Snow attempted to justify himself.

"Babe, you don't understand! Hope wanted these so badly! I couldn't say no to such a cute face!" Serah turned to look at Hope. What she saw was far from being cute. As a matter of fact Hope's glare at Snow could have rivaled Lightning's glares.

Lightning's glare was terrible. And not in a funny way; in a scary- I'm going to kill you in your sleep- kind of way.

Turning back to Snow, Serah placed her hands on her hips and let out a disappointed sigh.

"Honey, don't lie to me. Just admit that you have a problem. We can help you." Hope blanched at her compassionate tone. He was hoping that Snow would get pounded into the ground. Small or not, a Farron is a Farron and since Serah looked like Lightning, Hope figured that she was as strong as Lightning too.

He was hoping he would be able to confirm his theory today.

Hope glanced over at a bawling Snow and consoling Serah in disappointment. The confirmation would have to wait.

* * *

Hope was home, but he was still pissed off. Currently, he sat amongst a pile of pre-purchased, stored, perfectly new bits and pieces of stationery that had been hidden in Snow's impossibly tidy room.

Hope hardened his glare if that was even possible.

"I spent three hours with him outside of this house. In a stationery store- knowing nothing of his stationery fetish…" Lightning nodded, arranging Snow's new stationery around his room, strategically placing the pink feather pens out of sight. She couldn't have people thinking her sister's husband was a freaking queer, could she?

A grin formed on her lips at the thought.

Meanwhile Hope continued to rant about his horrid day.

"I'm not even pissed off anymore Light, I'm sad. I said it, there you go! I'm sad." Hope let his gaze drop to the carpet floor, pouting at the rubble around his feet.

Lightning shook her head and made her way towards the moping boy.

"Hope, this is all for your own good. I'm sure that when you start going to school, you're going to love it. Now get up and clean yourself up. We're going out for dinner tonight." Hope perked up at the mention of a normal family outing.

Sure he hated Snow, Serah and Lightning sometimes, but when they were being normal, he felt all fuzzy and tingly inside.

Getting up from the floor, he shot Lightning a small smile of gratitude which she returned in favor before he left the room to get ready for a normal night out.

Lightning grinned to herself as she watched the boy exit the room. He had no idea at all… no idea at all.


	4. Headmaster Cid

**A.N: _I'M SO SORRY ABOUT THE EXTREMELY LATE UPDATE! My mum's obsessed with social networking so she's kinda been taking my laptop away from me whenever we both have some free time on our hands :( Luckily for me- I'm not completely bored out of my mind as I have four Final Fantasy games to finish before I start university O_O_ **_**Okay so this chapter has a lot of crude language- it's kind of based on the way one of my 'friends' speaks to others on a regular basis. Like every single time this guy spoke- not necessarily to me but to others- he'd always say things like… Cid Highwind… LOL! As you can see now, this might as well be put in the cross-over section but the story is set in an AU version of Pulse, therefore it shall remain in the FFXIII category! :D Enjoy!**_

**Chapter Three- Headmaster Cid**

Hope had been expecting a decent dinner out with his adoptive family that evening. He'd actually been looking forward to spending time with the people he had hated for the past week. Unfortunately, the goddess Etro wasn't on his side- ever.

Withholding a sigh of annoyance, Hope felt as if he were about to explode as he sat in the car, listening to Serah go on about their 'absolutely super special awesome dinner with Headmaster Cid!' True to his name- throughout the whole car ride he hoped they would crash and the car would explode into a brilliant display of pyromania, before they got to the damn restaurant.

"He's a little crude sometimes, but he's a great Headmaster! All the kids listen to him- no questions asked!" Serah chattered on excitedly next to Hope, shaking him by his shoulder for the twenty-fifth time that night. If Hope didn't know any better, he would have been willing to bet that Serah was the one meeting the man for the first time.

Unfortunately, Lightning had planned this whole dinner for Hope to meet the man. Seated safely in the back seat, where he thought Lightning couldn't get him, he uttered mild curses at the woman.

"Stupid pink haired natural electric shock wannabe…"

Lightning glared at Hope from the driver's through the rear-view mirror.

"Excuse me?" Hope smirked, feeling confident in all his back seat glory. He ignored Serah's wide eyed attempt to shut him up, continuing his jibes at the livid gun blade wielder.

"Nothing, _Claire._" It was almost comedic how one moment Hope was feeling on top of the world, lounging in the back seat as if he was the King of Pulse, and the next he got a face full of the afore-mentioned 'natural electric shock wannabe's' seat. Smirking once again at the boy's red face through the rear view mirror, Lightning resumed the journey towards the restaurant.

"Better be nothing, _shorty_." With his pride hurt, and face injured, Hope stared out of the car window forlornly. He glanced momentarily at the happy, young people who walked freely along the boardwalk next to the seaside- not having to worry about going _anywhere_ at all besides home after a long night of partying.

Hope wanted to party with them.

With another dramatic sigh, he leaned against the cool glass window and closed his eyes; preparing himself for what he had anticipated to be an _awful_ night.

* * *

"SNOWY I MISSED YOU SO MUCH- LIGHTNING TRIED TO KILL US ALL!" Upon arrival to the fancy restaurant's main car park, Hope had been wrenched out of the car by an extremely annoyed Lightning 'Claire' Farron. Serah, still clutching her sore nose, almost immediately jumped out of the car and ran to her awaiting husband in tears. Perplexed, Snow shot the older Farron a questioning look.

Lightning shrugged as she steered a grumpy Hope towards the entrance of the establishment.

"They were being annoying, so I shut them up." Snow nodded slowly, his mouth shaped into a distinctive 'Oh' before the four fixed themselves up and entered the restaurant with bated breath.

Hope shivered at the feeling of impending doom as his vision registered fancy golden statues of the Eidolons that had once yielded to the group of l'cie on their adventures. Taking in the sight of the impressive golden statue of Alexander, Hope felt a pang of sadness within his chest. Despite all of his complaining _during_ the adventure, he had to give his friends and the Eidolons some credit- he'd never be as strong and self-reliant without their help.

"ARE YOU TELLING ME THAT I FUCKING PAID 200 GIL FOR HALF A GLASS OF WINE?! IS THAT WHAT YOU'RE TRYING TO TELL ME? BECAUSE MATE, I'M NOT IMPRESSED!" The loud curses of what sounded like a man traveled to the group of four, with Hope jumping to hide behind Lightning. The pink haired woman merely raised her eyebrows at the racket and continued forward, making sure to grab a hold of the silverette's hand to lead him forward.

"Ah, I see Headmaster Cid is as lively as ever tonight!" Serah piped up as she led Snow towards the noise. Hope paled, stopping dead in his tracks.

"_That _was Headmaster Cid?" Serah nodded enthusiastically as Snow smiled apologetically at Hope from behind his enthused wife. Taking in a deep breath, Hope let his shoulders sag as low as they could- surrendering himself to Lightning as she cautiously moved the group towards the man's table.

* * *

Snow gaped at the pretty woman who was seated with the crude, semi-drunk man. With extreme patience and a gentle voice, she ushered the four newcomers to the table, smiling apologetically all the while.

"I'm so sorry about that- this place is quite pricey!" She held her hand out to Snow, tilting her head to the side. "My name is Shera Highwind, it's a pleasure to meet the caretakers of our new student!" Hope watched as the kind woman graciously shook everyone's hand before her eyes settled on him. Smiling kindly, she was about to open her mouth to speak-

"Fuck me- this little shit is _small_! Are you sure he's in the ninth grade?" Hope glared at the man who stared at Lightning with wide eyes. The man's gaze flitted between the silent woman and the glaring boy before cursing again. "Shera, the little shit won't talk!" Shera sighed and ran a hand through Cid's choppy blonde hair. Hope winced at the rough looking blonde stubble on the man's chin that Cid was currently stroking with a great deal of thought in his expression.

"Hope is actually seventeen years old Headmaster Cid-!" Serah began. She was rudely cut off by the headmaster she adored as he brought his now empty wine glass down to the table, knocking the salt and pepper shakers down and making a mess. Ignoring the mess he made, he pointed at Serah with a slight frown on his face.

"Girl, don't be calling me headmaster around here. I'm just Cid. You will call me Cid. Have some class you dumb bitch." Serah gasped, but nodded none-the-less, as if it were a normal and completely acceptable thing to be called a 'dumb bitch' in a fancy restaurant. Snow, however, wasn't as calm and collected as Serah had been. Slamming his fists down onto the table, he ignored the fact that he had just pummeled his medium rare steak.

Hope caught Lightning rolling her eyes at Snow's dramatic display, making out her soft mumblings- apparently she had just called Snow an 'over-done drama queen'. Shrugging, Hope shoveled some steamed flan into his mouth and watched the exchange between his caretaker and his soon-to-be-headmaster.

"Don't _ever_ speak about my woman like that in front of me." Snow deadpanned. Shera and Serah watched the two men with panicked expressions fixed onto their delicate facial features. Cid shrugged, an aloof look fixed on his face.

"Okay, all-talk-no-action. I'll just call her a dumb bitch when you're not around." Snow seemingly relaxed at Cid's reply, seating himself looking satisfied with the turnout of his confrontation with the cursing man. Hope heard Lightning groan into her food in annoyance. He could tell she was just trying to be civil. If Cid hadn't been his future Headmaster, Lightning would have made sure the man would never be able to utter another curse word for the rest of his life.

Unluckily for Hope- she remained quiet, munching begrudgingly on her cold piece of chocobo breast.

Serah laughed nervously, patting Snow's large bicep as she watched him tear through his gourmet gorgonopsid burger with gusto.

"Okay then Cid- as I was saying- Hope's actually supposed to be in grade twelve!" Serah's bright tone faded as she was immediately sprayed with a concoction of red wine and saliva. Shera shot a horrified expression in Cid's direction just as Hope broke out into uncontrolled sniggers. Served Serah right, she was the one who had just been so _enthused_ over meeting the crude, bitter old man with the nice wife.

Why couldn't Shera be the Headmaster? Why did it have to be Cid?

This thought alone brought Hope's sniggers to a halt.

Zoning back into the code-red situation, Hope watched as Snow hurriedly patted Serah's abused face with a damp napkin. Serah's face was screwed up into what Hope liked to call the 'Farron Fury Warning'.

Hope's arm shot out for his glass of water, gulping it down nervously as he got ready to witness Serah's rare moments of rage.

The younger Farron picked up her glass of wine, a look of pure rage written across her usually docile eyes. Snow inched away from his wife, slowly shutting his eyes, knowing full well what was about to happen.

The young silver haired boy watched on gleefully, clutching onto his own glass of water in anticipation of the display. He'd been waiting to see Serah dish out her own form of Farron punishment for quite some time- but for it to be dished out on Hope's own to-be-headmaster… the notion was almost too good to be true!

"Mrs. Highwind… I don't know _how_ you put up with this… thing!" Hope turned to his right to stare at Lightning as she finally broke out of her self control. Glancing underneath the table, he gasped at the sight of Lightning's Blazefire Saber gripped tightly in her hand. Shaking his head rapidly, Hope shot a desperate look at Serah, who seemed to sober at his panicked expression.

"Hope…?" Serah started cautiously, but ended up gasping as the whole table, along with its contents, had been immediately flipped over by a livid Lightning Farron. Shera cried out loud in a panic as the restaurant patrons around the lively dinner party screamed in horror at the sight of the pink haired lieutenant in all of her gun blade wielding glory.

"I'm sorry Shera," Lightning paused to glare at the grinning headmaster before her- angering her ever more- before continuing, "but I'm going to have to kill that bastard you call your husband!"

"FUCK ME ETRO, SHE'S ACTUALLY GOING TO SHOVE THAT METAL CONTRAPTION UP MY ASS!" Cid roared in panic, darting behind his wife in fear. Hope's gaze softened at the sight- Cid reminded him of someone he knew…

Sagging his shoulders, he grimaced as he realized he had been the one hiding behind Lightning earlier that evening. Shrugging his shoulders, despite his hate for every living being at the table that night –besides Shera- Hope stepped behind his mother figure and wrenched the gun blade off the unsuspecting woman.

"Light… let me handle this." Lightning glared at the young boy momentarily before turning and spitting at the feet of Cid Highwind, despite the fact that she was in a high end restaurant… and the fact that he was Hope's to-be-headmaster. And with that, she waltzed around the table, grabbed her little sister's hand and wrenched the distraught girl out from the scene without another word. Snow sighed from beside Hope, already heading towards the reception area to pay for all the damage caused by… everyone- but mostly Lightning.

Turning back to Cid, Hope grinned evilly at the sad Shera and panicking Cid.

"I have a little proposition for you… that is if you fancy living for _now_." Shera gasped as Cid wrenched himself from her grip and bent down to face his short future student.

"Keep talking you little shit- I'm listening!"

Hope grinned, gears turning in over-drive in his brain as he settled his problems with the big- crude- man himself.


	5. Hot and Cold

**A.N; Okay, yes. It has been a while. A very long while. I'M SO SORRY! I've been procrastinating from this story by studying psychology, criminology and sociology as well as cleaning and exercising! (Yeah, I am a freak of nature! SOMEONE HELP MEEEE!) This chapter definitely is not my best. Seriously, I wrote half of it two months ago and the other half tonight LMAO! I was hit with inspiration all of a sudden; plus I finished all of my homework and just watched Shrek and thought "Hey, I think I'll go and update my story. Poor story, hasn't been touched for ages!" So yeah, here it is. Please feel free to flame me for no apparent reason LOL! I assure you, this chapter may not make a lot of sense. Okay, I should say that I WARN you that this chapter doesn't make much sense. I just wanted to introduce my awesome, super cool... well if you read this you'll find out who ;) R&R please :D**

**Chapter Four- Hot and Cold**

Lightning watched warily as Hope unbuckled his seat belt and jumped out of the car with a happy gait to his steps. She didn't know whether she should have been worried of significantly happy that the whole orientation process wasn't going to be as hellish as she had first anticipated. Releasing a quick sigh, she stepped out of the driver's seat and made her way around the car, locking the vehicle before catching up with the over-eager seventeen year old.

"This is going to be _so_ awesome!" Serah squealed happily as she tugged a half-asleep Snow towards the impressive building before them.

Hope inwardly winced at the younger Farron's excitement, but nodded along with what he hopes was a Cheshire cat grin. He hated the fact that he was actually _inside_ the New Bodhum Educational Facility, but he figured he might as well be grateful since his request had forcibly been approved by the absolutely _lovely_ Headmaster Cid Highwind.

A genuine smile found a place on Hope's lips as he continued forwards towards the place he had been dreading for the past couple of weeks. It wouldn't be so bad, he thought. Not at all- since he had pulled a few strings to make his stay at the facility shorter than what had been expected.

He had Lightning's unorthodox behavior at the dinner with the Headmaster and his wife a few nights back to thank.

A few more moments of walking and mulling over his small success of controlling his own life, Hope and company had finally made their way into the administration block.

It was there that Hope had decided that his situation couldn't have been all too bad. A young woman with stylish glasses perched upon her nose sat with her legs crossed provocatively across the counter. The said counter was littered with paper work, presumably for all the new enrolments at the new Bodhum Educational Facility.

Snow stepped up to the counter, pushing Lightning out of the way, earning him a hideously scary glare from the older Farron. Hope found himself being pulled along with the huge guy, wincing as Snow began to speak.

"Hey there, beautiful-" The woman rolled her eyes. From what Hope could see, atop her ample bosom was a nametag. Her name was Quistis Trepe. Hope sighed, feeling abashed for knowing the lady's first name. For some reason, he felt special. Though he knew deep down that there was nothing special about knowing the administration lady's first name. He was being a fool; as usual.

"What's your name?" She asked sternly. Snow grinned in response, ignoring Serah's desperate whines for the attention of her 'hero'.

"Snow Villiers, yours?" She let out a sigh, rubbing the side of her head and shaking her head.

"I meant your boy. I am seriously way too over qualified to be dealing with this shit." Lightning burst out in an uncharacteristic fit of laughter at Snow's gob-smacked face.

"The woman's got style." Quistis stared expectantly at Lightning, a desperate glint in her eye. Lightning's demeanor returned to its normal stoic, scary nature as she finished the whole exchange. "Hope Estheim, grade twelve. He's a special admission, authorized by at asshole, Headmaster Cid." Quistis nodded, completely ignoring the insult to her boss, and typed in the details quickly into the system before reaching for a grey folder. Hope grinned as Quistis shoved the folder at him, in a hurry to get rid of Snow.

"You're enrolled. You'll find your timetable in the folder and some leaflets telling you how to conduct yourself within this facility. Please memorise the institute rules and have the handbook on hand at _all_ times. Failure to do so will result in detention and a letter home to your… guardians." Serah made an affirmative noise before latching onto Snow's arm.

"Okay, thanks Ms. Trepe. We'll be off now." Serah attempted to pull Snow away from the counter, but he remained grinning, Quistis' insult to him completely forgotten.

"Babe, you can write me a love letter any time. I'll discipline this pip-squeak, and then maybe we can… hang out, do some paperwork? Together-" Serah screamed in frustration, Farron Fury taking over her better judgment. Hope winced as he watched Serah pull Snow away by the ear. Turning back to the counter, he found a very stern looking Quistis.

"Be good, or you'll be sorry. You are dismissed." Hope's eyes brightened.

"From school?" She shook her head as Lightning gently led Hope away by the arm.

"No from the office." Her face morphed into one of slight sympathy as Hope sulkily followed Lightning back into the courtyard, completely engulfed by the sea of new enrolments that awaited her less than thorough attention.

"Name and grade please- and I _am _asking the student."

* * *

Although Hope was happy that he was no longer being put into a class full of short pre-pubescent teenagers, he was still less than happy to see Lightning, Snow and Serah saying their goodbyes to him outside his roll call classroom.

"Now Hope, I want you to be good and do what you are told. If I hear that you've been a complete ass to anyone, I'll make sure that you won't be having dessert for a week." Lighting rolled her eyes at Serah's less that threatening warning. The older Farron stepped up menacingly towards Hope, who gulped in both fear and nervousness at his caretaker's close proximity.

"Forget the damn dessert. You mess up here, I'll mess you up at home. Got it?" Hope felt a sweat bullet trickle down his brow.

"Yes ma'am." Lightning's tight lipped frown made way for something that resembled a very strained smile. She seemed tired.

"Good boy. See you in a few hours."

"Oh shit, why here of all places?" Hope whirled around to see a handsome young man dressed in leather and belts- almost like a punk rocker- his manly face highlighted by his dark brown hair and badass facial scar. Hope sighed inwardly. If only he could look as cool as that guy.

"Leonhart." Lightning nodded stiffly at 'Leonhart'. Even his name was cool. Hope quietly cursed at his flimsy little princess name. Why 'Hope' of all things? Hope would rather be called 'Bob'.

Snow snorted, completely amused at the whole exchange. Hope snuck a glance at the previously stern and livid Serah and was surprised to see her stuffing her face into Snow's huge sleeve, trying to drown her own amusement. He had no idea what was going on.

"Ahem, Farron. It's been a while." His suave voice echoed in Hope's ears. Hope found himself wishing he was 'Leonhart'. What he wouldn't give to be even a small faction of cool that 'Leonhart' was…

"It's only been a weekend, pretty boy." Lightning averted her gaze from his face. Hope raised an eyebrow at her behaviour. She had never behaved in this way before. Hope shrugged it off momentarily; he was too busy basking in 'Leonhart's' coolness.

"My name is Squall." Hope burst into laughter.

"Your name is Squall? Are you serious?" His amused questions were met with an awkward silence.

"Yeah." Hope drew a breath, feeling small before the taller and much more superior man standing before him.

"Oh… I'm Hope." Squall regarded Hope carefully, his cold blue eyes willing Hope to remain completely still.

"Well then, Hope, I'd say you are in no position to laugh. Same goes to you _Lighting_." Hope looked to his pink haired care-taker, who quickly wiped the amused smirk off her face. Eyebrows knit together, Lightning glared at Squall. Hope was still, warily, basking in the man's coolness.

"My birth name is _Claire_." Serah let out a strangles squeal of amusement. Snow petted Serah's hair, grinning like an idiot.

"Babe, just breathe. This is no where near over!" Hope sidled up to the couple's side and watched the verbal match between Squall (he was so cool) and Lightning (she was plain scary).

"Well, _Claire_, you should take some time off work to teach your kid some manners. It's not nice to laugh at a superior ranking officer." Lightning scoffed.

"Listen here, _Squall_. Captain Armodar hasn't promoted you yet! So get off your high horse and don't tell me what to do ever again." Hope jumped as Lightning wrenched her index finger passionately in his direction, "And HE is NOT my KID!" With a final huff, Lightning turned towards the exit and stomped off.

Squall finally smirked, running a hand through his unruly brown locks. Hope basked in his coolness yet again.

"Oh yeah, she's _totally_ into me." With a quick nod towards the laughing couple a few feet away, Squall followed after the aggravated Lightning. Hope blinked after the man and sighed heavily. If only he could be that cool.

"Oh my Etro! Okay, okay, I think we'll leave you to it kid! That was hilarious! I'll see you later buddy." Snow wiped tears of mirth from his eyes and walked himself to the exit as Serah walked the opposite way towards Hope and the classrooms.

Hope just shrugged; all the joy and merriment gone from his direct view. It was time to learn stuff.

He was not looking forward to it.


End file.
